Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019

116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1 AN ACT To make improvements to certain defense and security assist- ance provisions and to authorize the appropriation of funds to Israel, to reauthorize the United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015, and to halt the whole- sale slaughter of the Syrian people, and for other pur- poses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 † S 1 ES SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 1 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 2 ‘‘Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act 3 of 2019’’. 4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 5 this Act is as follows: 6 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN UNITED STATES-ISRAEL SECURITY ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2019 Sec. 101. Short title. Sec. 102. Appropriate congressional committees defined. Subtitle A—Security Assistance for Israel Sec. 111. Findings. Sec. 112. Statement of policy regarding Israel’s defense systems. Sec. 113. Assistance for Israel. Sec. 114. Extension of war reserves stockpile authority. Sec. 115. Extension of loan guarantees to Israel. Sec. 116. Transfer of precision guided munitions to Israel. Sec. 117. Sense of Congress on rapid acquisition and deployment procedures. Sec. 118. Eligibility of Israel for the strategic trade authorization exception to certain export control licensing requirements. Subtitle B—Enhanced United States-Israel Cooperation Sec. 121. United States-Israel space cooperation. Sec. 122. United States-Israel enhanced partnership for development coopera- tion in developing nations. Sec. 123. Authority to enter into a cooperative project agreement with Israel to counter unmanned aerial vehicles that threaten the United States or Israel. Subtitle C—Ensuring Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge Sec. 131. Statement of policy. TITLE II—UNITED STATES-JORDAN DEFENSE COOPERATION EXTENSION ACT Sec. 201. Short title. Sec. 202. Findings. Sec. 203. Sense of Congress. Sec. 204. Reauthorization of United States-Jordan Defense Cooperation Act of 2015. Sec. 205. Report on establishing an enterprise fund for Jordan. TITLE III—CAESAR SYRIA CIVILIAN PROTECTION ACT OF 2019 3 † S 1 ES Sec. 301. Short title. Subtitle A—Additional Actions in Connection With the National Emergency With Respect to Syria Sec. 311. Measures with respect to Central Bank of Syria. Sec. 312. Sanctions with respect to foreign persons that engage in certain transactions. Subtitle B—Assistance for the People of Syria Sec. 321. Codification of certain services in support of nongovernmental organi- zations’ activities authorized. Sec. 322. Briefing on strategy to facilitate humanitarian assistance. Subtitle C—General Provisions Sec. 331. Suspension of sanctions. Sec. 332. Waivers and exemptions. Sec. 333. Implementation and regulatory authorities. Sec. 334. Rule of construction. Sec. 335. Sunset. TITLE IV—COMBATING BDS ACT OF 2019 Sec. 401. Short title. Sec. 402. Nonpreemption of measures by State and local governments to divest from entities that engage in certain boycott, divestment, or sanctions activities targeting Israel or persons doing business in Israel or Israeli-controlled territories. Sec. 403. Safe harbor for changes of investment policies by asset managers. Sec. 404. Sense of congress regarding certain ERISA plan investments. Sec. 405. Rule of construction. Sec. 406. Clarification of deadline for report on establishing an enterprise fund for Jordan. Sec. 407. Form of report on the cooperation of the United States and Israel with respect to countering unmanned aerial systems. Sec. 408. Sense of Senate on withdrawals of United States forces from Syria and Afghanistan. TITLE I—ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN 1 UNITED STATES-ISRAEL SE- 2 CURITY ASSISTANCE AU- 3 THORIZATION ACT OF 2019 4 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 5 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Ileana Ros-Lehtinen 6 United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization 7 Act of 2019’’. 8 4 † S 1 ES SEC. 102. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES 1 DEFINED. 2 In this title, the term ‘‘appropriate congressional 3 committees’’ means— 4 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 5 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and 6 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 7 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep- 8 resentatives. 9 Subtitle A—Security Assistance for 10 Israel 11 SEC. 111. FINDINGS. 12 Congress makes the following findings: 13 (1) In February 1987, the United States grant- 14 ed Israel major non-NATO ally status. 15 (2) On August 16, 2007, the United States and 16 Israel signed a 10-year Memorandum of Under- 17 standing on United States military assistance to 18 Israel. The total assistance over the course of this 19 understanding would equal $30 billion. 20 (3) On July 27, 2012, the United States-Israel 21 Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 (Public 22 Law 112–150; 22 U.S.C. 8601 et seq.) declared it 23 to be the policy of the United States ‘‘to help the 24 Government of Israel preserve its qualitative military 25 edge amid rapid and uncertain regional political 26 5 † S 1 ES transformation’’ and stated the sense of Congress 1 that the United States Government should ‘‘provide 2 the Government of Israel defense articles and de- 3 fense services through such mechanisms as appro- 4 priate, to include air refueling tankers, missile de- 5 fense capabilities, and specialized munitions’’. 6 (4) On December 19, 2014, President Barack 7 Obama signed into law the United States-Israel 8 Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (Public Law 113– 9 296) which stated the sense of Congress that Israel 10 is a major strategic partner of the United States 11 and declared it to be the policy of the United States 12 ‘‘to continue to provide Israel with robust security 13 assistance, including for the procurement of the Iron 14 Dome Missile Defense System’’. 15 (5) Section 1679 of the National Defense Au- 16 thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 17 114–92; 129 Stat. 1135) authorized funds to be ap- 18 propriated for Israeli cooperative missile defense 19 program codevelopment and coproduction, including 20 funds to be provided to the Government of Israel to 21 procure the David’s Sling weapon system as well as 22 the Arrow 3 Upper Tier Interceptor Program. 23 (6) On September 14, 2016, the United States 24 and Israel signed a 10-year Memorandum of Under- 25 6 † S 1 ES standing reaffirming the importance of continuing 1 annual United States military assistance to Israel 2 and cooperative missile defense programs in a way 3 that enhances Israel’s security and strengthens the 4 bilateral relationship between the two countries. 5 (7) The 2016 Memorandum of Understanding 6 reflected United States support of Foreign Military 7 Financing (FMF) grant assistance to Israel over the 8 10-year period beginning in fiscal year 2019 and 9 ending in fiscal year 2028. FMF grant assistance 10 would be at a level of $3,300,000,000 annually, to- 11 taling $33 billion, the largest single pledge of mili- 12 tary assistance ever and a reiteration of the seven- 13 decade, unshakeable, bipartisan commitment of the 14 United States to Israel’s security. 15 (8) The Memorandum of Understanding also 16 reflected United States support for funding for coop- 17 erative programs to develop, produce, and procure 18 missile, rocket, and projectile defense capabilities 19 over a 10-year period beginning in fiscal year 2019 20 and ending in fiscal year 2028 at a level of $500 21 million per year, totaling $5 billion. 22 7 † S 1 ES SEC. 112. STATEMENT OF POLICY REGARDING ISRAEL’S DE- 1 FENSE SYSTEMS. 2 It shall be the policy of the United States to provide 3 assistance to the Government of Israel in order to support 4 funding for cooperative programs to develop, produce, and 5 procure missile, rocket, projectile, and other defense capa- 6 bilities to help Israel meet its security needs and to help 7 develop and enhance United States defense capabilities. 8 SEC. 113. ASSISTANCE FOR ISRAEL. 9 Section 513(c) of the Security Assistance Act of 2000 10 (Public Law 106–280; 114 Stat. 856) is amended— 11 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2002 and 12 2003’’ and inserting ‘‘2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 13 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028’’; and 14 (2) in paragraph (2)— 15 (A) by striking ‘‘equal to—’’ and inserting 16 ‘‘not less than $3,300,000,000.’’; and 17 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 18 (B). 19 SEC. 114. EXTENSION OF WAR RESERVES STOCKPILE AU- 20 THORITY. 21 Section 514(b)(2)(A) of the Foreign Assistance Act 22 of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h(b)(2)(A)) is amended by strik- 23 ing ‘‘2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019’’ and 24 inserting ‘‘2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023’’. 25 8 † S 1 ES SEC. 115. EXTENSION OF LOAN GUARANTEES TO ISRAEL. 1 Chapter 5 of title I of the Emergency Wartime Sup- 2 plemental Appropriations Act, 2003 (Public Law 108–11; 3 117 Stat. 576) is amended under the heading ‘‘LOAN 4 GUARANTEES TO ISRAEL’’— 5 (1) in the matter preceding the first proviso, by 6 striking ‘‘September 30, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep- 7 tember 30, 2023’’; and 8 (2) in the second proviso, by striking ‘‘Sep- 9 tember 30, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 10 2023’’. 11 SEC. 116. TRANSFER OF PRECISION GUIDED MUNITIONS TO 12 ISRAEL. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 514 of 14 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2321h), 15 the President is authorized to transfer such quantities of 16 precision guided munitions from reserve stocks to Israel 17 as necessary for legitimate self-defense and otherwise con- 18 sistent with the purposes and conditions for such transfers 19 under the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751 et 20 seq.). 21 (b) CERTIFICATIONS.—Except in case of emergency, 22 not later than 5 days before making a transfer under this 23 section, the President shall certify in an unclassified noti- 24 fication to the appropriate congressional committees that 25 the transfer of the precision guided munitions— 26 9 † S 1 ES (1) does not affect the ability of the United 1 States to maintain a sufficient supply of precision 2 guided munitions; 3 (2) does not harm the combat readiness of the 4 United States or the ability of the United States to 5 meet its commitment to allies for the transfer of 6 such munitions; 7 (3) is necessary for Israel to counter the threat 8 of rockets in a timely fashion; and 9 (4) is in the national security interest of the 10 United States. 11 SEC. 117. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RAPID ACQUISITION 12 AND DEPLOYMENT PROCEDURES. 13 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 14 prescribe procedures for the rapid acquisition and deploy- 15 ment of precision guided munitions for United States 16 counterterrorism missions, or to assist an ally of the 17 United States, including Israel, that is subject to direct 18 missile threat. 19 SEC. 118. ELIGIBILITY OF ISRAEL FOR THE STRATEGIC 20 TRADE AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION TO CER- 21 TAIN EXPORT CONTROL LICENSING RE- 22 QUIREMENTS. 23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 24 ings: 25 10 † S 1 ES (1) Israel has adopted high standards in the 1 field of export controls. 2 (2) Israel has declared its unilateral adherence 3 to the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Aus- 4 tralia Group, and the Nuclear Suppliers Group. 5 (3) Israel is a party to— 6 (A) the Convention on Prohibitions or Re- 7 strictions on the Use of Certain Conventional 8 Weapons which may be Deemed to be Exces- 9 sively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Ef- 10 fects, signed at Geneva October 10, 1980; 11 (B) the Protocol for the Prohibition of the 12 Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or 13 Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of 14 Warfare, signed at Geneva June 17, 1925; and 15 (C) the Convention on the Physical Protec- 16 tion of Nuclear Material, adopted at Vienna Oc- 17 tober 26, 1979. 18 (4) Section 6(b) of the United States-Israel 19 Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 8603 20 note) directs the President, consistent with the com- 21 mitments of the United States under international 22 agreements, to take steps so that Israel may be in- 23 cluded in the list of countries eligible for the stra- 24 tegic trade authorization exception under section 25 11 † S 1 ES 740.20(c)(1) of title 15, Code of Federal Regula- 1 tions, to the requirement for a license for the export, 2 reexport, or in-country transfer of an item subject to 3 controls under the Export Administration Regula- 4 tions. 5 (b) REPORT ON ELIGIBILITY FOR STRATEGIC TRADE 6 AUTHORIZATION EXCEPTION.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 9 President shall submit to the appropriate congres- 10 sional committees a report that describes the steps 11 taken pursuant to section 6(b) of the United States- 12 Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2014 (22 U.S.C. 13 8603 note). 14 (2) FORM.—The report required under para- 15 graph (1) shall be provided in unclassified form, but 16 may contain a classified portion. 17 Subtitle B—Enhanced United 18 States-Israel Cooperation 19 SEC. 121. UNITED STATES-ISRAEL SPACE COOPERATION. 20 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 21 ings: 22 (1) Authorized in 1958, the National Aero- 23 nautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports 24 and coordinates United States Government research 25 12 † S 1 ES in aeronautics, human exploration and operations, 1 science, and space technology. 2 (2) Established in 1983, the Israel Space Agen- 3 cy (ISA) supports the growth of Israel’s space indus- 4 try by supporting academic research, technological 5 innovation, and educational activities. 6 (3) The mutual interest of the United States 7 and Israel in space exploration affords both nations 8 an opportunity to leverage their unique abilities to 9 advance scientific discovery. 10 (4) In 1996, NASA and the ISA entered into 11 an agreement outlining areas of mutual cooperation, 12 which remained in force until 2005. 13 (5) Since 1996, NASA and the ISA have suc- 14 cessfully cooperated on many space programs sup- 15 porting the Global Positioning System and research 16 related to the sun, earth science, and the environ- 17 ment. 18 (6) The bond between NASA and the ISA was 19 permanently forged on February 1, 2003, with the 20 loss of the crew of STS–107, including Israeli Astro- 21 naut Ilan Ramon. 22 (7) On October 13, 2015, the United States 23 and Israel signed the Framework Agreement be- 24 tween the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis- 25 13 † S 1 ES tration of the United States of America and the 1 Israel Space Agency for Cooperation in Aeronautics 2 and the Exploration and Use of Airspace and O [Text truncated for display. 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